A Public Health Perspective on End of Life Care

Edited by Joachim Cohen and Luc Deliens

Applies a public health approach to palliative care to show how societies can successfully safeguard a good quality of the end of life for patient populations

Focuses on population health, rather than clinical interventions or other aspects of individual health

A Public Health Perspective on End of Life Care

Edited by Joachim Cohen and Luc Deliens

Description

Worldwide, more than 50 million people die each year and it is estimated on the basis of the conditions leading to death that up to 60% of them could benefit from some form of palliative care. It is a public health challenge to ensure that these people can access good palliative or end-of-life care. Pursuing good population health essentially also implies striving for a 'good enough death' and a good quality of care at the end of life. Safeguarding a good quality of the end of life for patient populations for whom it is appropriate requires a public health approach.

In most developed countries ageing populations that increasingly die from chronic diseases after a prolonged -often degenerative- dying trajectory make up the public health challenges for palliative care. The very large baby boom generation will soon reach old age and can be expected to pose strong demands regarding the circumstances and care at their end of life. Only by applying a public health approach to palliative care (instead of individual patient perspectives), can societies successfully help to organize and plan end-of-life care in accordance with these aspirations.

A Public Health Perspective on End of Life Care presents a synthesis and overview of relevant research and empirical data on the end of life that can bear a basis for a more systematic 'public health of the end of life'. The book focuses on population health, rather than clinical interventions or other aspects of individual health, and discusses studies using different methodologies (not only epidemiological research). The focus is on the quality of the end-of-life of populations, in particular from social sciences, environmental sciences, and humanities perspectives.

Jose EspinosaWHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Palliative Care Programmes / The 'Qualy' End of Life Observatory. Catalan Institute of Oncology, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain

Konrad FassbenderAssistant Professor, Division of Palliative Care Medicine,Adjunct assistant professor, School of Public Health,Fellow of the Institute of Public Economics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Phil D. SloaneGoodwin Distinguished Professor of Family Medicine, and Associate Chair, Department of Family Medicine, andDirector of Geriatric Fellowship Research for the Center for Aging and Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

Jan StjernswardChairman WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Palliative Care Programmes / The 'Qualy' End of Life Observatory. Catalan Institute of Oncology, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.

Jenny Van der SteenSenior ResearcherDepartment of Nursing Home Medicine, and Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute for Health and Care ResearchVU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

A Public Health Perspective on End of Life Care

Edited by Joachim Cohen and Luc Deliens

Reviews and Awards

"Thus, this work will be pertinent for years to come. The volume is divided into 22 chapters and 7 parts covering the clinical and social contexts of death/dying, access to and settings for end-of-life care, policies, and inequalities in care. All chapters are concise and interesting, providing a wealth of information. The bibliographies at the end of each chapter are a treasure trove for further reading and research. A valuable resource for current and future health care providers in and out of the field of oncology. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners." -- J. S. St. Clair, Lynchburg College, CHOICE